COLOMBO: Indian captain Shikhar Dhawan after winning the ODI series against Sri Lanka in the second match stated that the team thought Manish Pandey and Suryakumar Yadav would guide them to victory.
Suryakumar scored a gutsy 53 run while Manish got out at 37 for the visitors. But it was Deepak Chahar who played one of the most memorable knocks to steer India to a thrilling win over Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium on Tuesday. Chahar (69*) smashed a brilliant fifty and stitched an unbeaten 84-run stand with Bhuvneshwar Kumar (19*) to take India home after the visitors were reduced to 193/7 in the second ODI.
"I felt that the wicket today was much better and we restricted them to a good score. The spinners fought back and the bowlers adjusted their line and lengths when their batsmen were in. We didn't start well and it is a good learning lesson for the youngsters that everyday is not the same. They will understand how to handle these situations and how to bring in new strategies. The way Manish Pandey and Suryakumar were batting, we thought they would take us home," Shikhar Dhawan said after the match.
"Hard luck to Pandey for the way he got out. The way Krunal fought in the middle was amazing. Everyone showed character. We knew that Chahar has worked hard in the nets on his batting. His presence of mind and calculations against the leg-spinner was amazing. Both Bhuvi and him calculated it really well."
"I felt the way Sri Lanka planned their innings in both their batting and bowling was amazing. The way they batted and fielded was good to watch. They worked really hard, but glad that we are on the winning side. Every game is a learning lesson and we hope to analyse and get better. We want to put up a good show all the time," he added.
Batting first, Sri Lanka was on 194/6 in the 40th over when Charith Asalanka revived the hosts' innings. Asalanka's fighting fifty kept Sri Lanka ticking the scoreboard as the hosts reached 244 before he got out.
In the last two overs, Sri Lanka scored 23 runs to reach 275 despite losing two wickets in the final six balls.